MP urges opposition to have dialogues with Govt

Al Maarfi says opposition’s problems can only be tacked from Bahrain

Manama

 A parliamentarian yesterday urged opposition to forget Iran and first concentrate on the internal issues, as the solution to their problems would come from Bahrain alone.

 MP Mohamed Al Maarfi made the statement in an exclusive interview with DT News yesterday.

  “No talks in the world have ever succeeded based on win-lose formula. A dialogue becomes success only if there is advantage for both parties, and this was the formula Iranians applied with the six world powers in striking the nuclear deal. It is now the opposition’s turn to use the same formula and have a dialogue with the government,” he said.

 He said the violent methods used by the opposition for the past many years have failed and would continue to do so in the future.

  “If you want to get everything but are not ready to give anything in exchange to the other party, how can there be a solution?” questioned Al Maarfi.

 He said Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamanie should be fair when he talks about Bahrain. He said that Iran needs to adopt a fair attitude towards its GCC neighbours and its leaders should avoid provoking statements.

 The Imam of Tehran had recently stated, “Bahrain is not a country but a big prison.”

 “It is not Bahrain, but Iran, which is the prison. Iran executed over 1800 people after Rouhani took power in June 2013 and has been violating the human rights of its people including women and children consistently,” he added.

 He said the Iranians don’t look into their own problems, but throw debris of the problems on Bahrain and such an unfair attitude must be rectified.

 “The GCC countries are always looking forward to a peaceful region and want good relations with everyone including Iran. But unfortunately the Iranian leadership only talks about peace. The situation cannot change unless their words and actions match,” the MP said.

 Maarfi claimed the sleeping cells in Bahrain are taking orders from Iran. “They have done a very wicked deed in Sitra and if they are not stopped, they might repeat the same somewhere else.”

 He said Islamic State (IS) is a big threat for the whole region including Bahrain and that they should be tackled with strong hands.